


this air is blessed (you share with me)

by Beeze



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Tooth Rotting Fluff, awkward nerds crushing on each other, meddling superhero friends, multiple POVs, so much fluff I'm choking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4605348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beeze/pseuds/Beeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Cisco and Laurel are too busy being giant nerds to just get together already, but maybe after some cat memes, some Walking Dead episodes, some meddling friends and some grown up talk these idiots can make out on a sidewalk or whatever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this air is blessed (you share with me)

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely post s3 of Arrow and post s1 of The Flash, maybe a year or so after. I literally don't know what this is? I just wanted to write fluffy Blackvibe because god knows actual angel Laurel Lance and real life puppy Cisco Ramon deserve it.

“Who are you texting?” 

Caitlin didn’t mean for that to come out so snappy, but she had been trying to read through her findings and Cisco had been only a few feet away clicking away on his phone. It had been nothing but c _lick, click, click_ since he had entered the room and she wanted to bang her head against a wall. 

Caitlin stared at him, waiting for a response, but Cisco remained fixated on the screen of his phone as his thumbs flew across the glass screen. 

“Cisco!” She yelled, slapping her hands down on the table. 

His head jerked up, eyes focused on her but glazed over, clearly transfixed on whatever was happening on his phone. “Huh?” 

She shook her head, her auburn hair dancing around her shoulders as she looked at him exasperated. He only stared back- and then returned to his phone. 

“Oh my god, Cisco,” she groaned. “Can you at least silent it? The fake keyboard sounds are honestly the worst feature of that entire phone. Completely useless.” 

She heard the whoosh of the send button and then Cisco cleared his throat. “What were you saying?” 

Caitlin’s eyes rolled of their own volition. “Who were you texting? I thought you were going to burn a hole through your phone.” 

“Oh,” Cisco said, laughing. “Sorry. I was in a debate.” 

Caitlin leaned back in her seat, and observed Cisco as he stood up and headed to the other side of the room. “With who?” She asked, her tone softer. 

Cisco smiled and shrugged. “Just a friend.” 

Just a friend.

* * *

 2:11 PM Cisco Ramon _  
_

_Okay, first of all you’re insane. Black Widow would dominate Elektra in combat and any other alternative is just infallible. While I think both ladies are crazy badass and could take down just about anyone they set their sites on, you have failed to convince me that Elektra would beat Black Widow. I mean, it’s Black Widow!!!!  
_

2:13 PM Laurel Lance _  
_

_I’m not saying that Black Widow isn’t a badass. She is! I’m just saying that you’re underestimating Elektra. She’s fierce!  
_

2:14 PM Cisco Ramon _  
_

_I agree! A worthy opponent for any assassin, but Black Widow was indoctrinated through a rigorous program of child assassins. Not to mention the serum they pumped into her. Very few people can actually take her down and I’m unconvinced that Elektra would be one of them. That’s not to say that they wouldn’t be equally matched or just as well.  
_

2:21 PM Laurel Lance _  
_

_Ugh! Cisco! You’re wrong! I have to be in court in five, but when I’m done we’re starting this up again._

* * *

6:15 PM Laurel Lance _  
_

_Okay, let’s agree to disagree, but on a semi-related topic: would you know where I could find the very first solo-Elektra comic? I got my hands on the Elektra: Assassin from 1986, but I really want to read the Elektra Saga from 1984. I’ve found tons of digital copies, but I want the real thing! Any suggestions? Also, Winter Soldier or Wolverine?  
_

6:33 PM Cisco Ramon _  
_

_Hmmm, I might know a place. Let me see and I’ll get back to you. And um, Wolverine. He literally cannot die!!!  
_

6:34 PM Laurel Lance _  
_

_Hahahahaha, okay! Heading out for patrol. (:  
_

6:36 PM Cisco Ramon _  
_

_Be safe! Kick ass! And for when you’re back: Captain America or Deadpool?_

* * *

“I’ll be honest,” Laurel said with a sigh. “I thought Oliver had someone to clean his suit.” 

Thea snorted. “I was surprised too.”

“Who the hell do you think he would have had doing it?” Diggle asked. He stood with Barry just a few feet away, arms crossed with an arched brow as he looked at the girls. “He asked me? I probably would have shot him.” 

Laurel and Thea looked at each other across the table, snickering and giggling. Barry’s laugh was loud and it made Laurel smile wider. Things were still heavy and somber, and there were two distinct holes carved into the team that Oliver and Felicity had left behind. But together, Diggle, Thea, Laurel and Nyssa made a unified ensemble, with the occasional appearance of Team Flash.

“Laurel,” Barry said, appearing at her side before she could blink. She was going to have to get used to that and soon. “Cisco asked me to give this to you.” He reached into a messenger bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out a manila envelope before sliding it towards her. She dropped her suit, which was almost impeccable now, and snatched the envelope off the table, opening it and reaching inside.

As soon as her fingers grazed it, she knew exactly what it was. 

A grin exploded on her face as she pulled it out and held it in her hands. 

“Is that a comic?” Thea asked curiously, smoothing out her suit. 

Laurel nodded, “Yep.”

It wasn’t just any comic. It was a first edition of the Elektra Saga series and a grin immediately exploded across Laurel’s face. She erupted into giggles and Thea stared at her, wide eyed. Laurel pointedly ignored her. 

There was a post-it note on the cover. 

_Thought I had this in my comic stash at my parents’ house and I was right. Enjoy!_

* * *

“Okay, but what did she say when she saw it?” 

“Cisco,” Barry groaned. It had been this way ever since Barry had stepped inside of STAR labs- Cisco firing question after question about Laurel and the comic Barry had delivered to her. Although, at the time Barry hadn’t known that’s what he had in his care. He had assumed it was something to do with the tech that Cisco had created for Laurel. _Oh_ , was he wrong. “Didn’t she call you or text you?” He remembered her getting up, heading for her purse, grabbing her phone and dashing upstairs to the club. 

“Yeah! Like right away. She thanked me and sent some praying emojis and some crying emojis and then some heart-eyed emojis, but that is meaningless.” 

“I can’t tell if you’re kidding,” Barry said, rubbing his face tiredly. 

“Dude!” Cisco shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “What did she say? What did she do? Did she just brush it off or was she like “this is so rad”? Give me something here!” 

Barry laughed. “She didn’t really say anything, okay? She just broke out into this huge grin and wouldn’t stop laughing and then got her phone out to text you.” 

Cisco leaped up in the air and shoved his hands into his hair, grinning like a lunatic. “Really? She was that stoked? Oh man, on a scale of like one to ten how high would you rate her reaction?” 

“Cisco, I’m tired. I’m going home.” 

“If the situations were reversed, I’d help you out! Come on, man!” 

“ _Go home, Cisco_.”

* * *

“Look at this picture Laurel posted.” Cisco shoved his phone into Iris’s face. Iris looked up from her laptop and peered at the phone’s screen. 

“Ha,” Iris grinned. “I saw that when I went on a few minutes ago. Is that Thea with her?” 

Cisco nodded. “They train every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings together. Before Laurel has to head into the DA’s office.” Iris’s hands hovered over the laptop as she stared at Cisco. She watched him double tap the picture, effectively liking it, then clicked his phone shut and slid it into his back pocket before focusing again on the numbers in front of him. Iris wasn’t sure exactly what he was working on, but she knew it was something to do with improving Barry’s suit. Cisco loved to make little improvements on his so-called “master creation”. But Iris continued to stare at him, the cogs in her head whirling and spinning. 

“You and Laurel talk a lot, huh?” Iris asked. Her tone was nonchalant and her posture was relaxed, but her curiosity was anything but. 

“Yeah,” Cisco confirmed. “Yeah, definitely.” He stopped, looking up and over at Iris. “Why?” His tone held just an edge of suspicion. 

Iris shrugged and then returned to her own computer screen. “I was just curious. I mean, she’s the Black Canary. You’re not intimidated at all?” 

That did the trick. Any suspicion Cisco may have had about Iris’s questions evaporated at the mere suggestion of him being even slightly afraid of what Iris was _sure_ was his lady crush.

“Intimidated?!” Iris hadn’t been aware that Cisco’s voice could reach such high levels, but alas. “Have you met Laurel?” 

Iris rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ve met her!” 

Cisco flung his arms out. “Well, then! You know she’s the sweetest, nicest, most generous person on the face of the planet. She’s like, made of sunshine and puppies and ice-cream and flowers, but can also deftly kick your ass from Starling City to Moscow and barely break a sweat. She’s not intimidating! She’s amazing! She’s the greatest- the greatest person ever. Right?!” 

Iris bit her lip, smothering down any reaction and nodded. “Duh.” 

Iris kind of wanted to text Laurel and see what Laurel had to say, but just as her hand grazed her phone she thought better of it. She had her own relationship with Barry to tend to. Getting involved in her friends’ relationship? She knew better than that.  

Old habits die hard.

* * *

Sunday nights were movie nights. 

Or that was what Laurel had insisted to Nyssa. She had been reticent at first, but once discovering that Laurel had quite excellent taste in cinema, she became warmer to the idea. Sometimes she even looked forward to their “movie nights”. 

There was usually popcorn, or pizza, or cookies, or cakes, and Nyssa found that movie nights were actually quite fun. 

Tonight, however, Laurel would not part with her phone. She wouldn’t even look away from it. 

Nyssa had decided to ignore it. She knew Laurel had a job outside of being Black Canary and perhaps she was handling business in that area. When Laurel started to giggle, Nyssa knew she had been wrong. 

“What are you looking at?” She demanded. Another fit of giggles emanated from Laurel before she shook her head. 

“Nothing,” she answered, with a wave of her hand. 

“You’re looking at something,” Nyssa insisted. “Are you talking to someone? Are they that amusing?” 

“It’s just Cisco,” Laurel laughed. She sighed with a smile adorning her face as she placed the phone in her lap. “And yes, he is very amusing.” 

“Who is Cisco?” 

Laurel gave her an odd look and Nyssa racked her brain immediately. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t conjure a face. 

“Cisco!” Laurel exclaimed. “He works with Barry.” 

“Oh, yes,” Nyssa nodded triumphantly, placing the name with a face much easier now. “The very intelligent one who talks too much. The one whose attracted to you.” 

“What?!” Laurel squawked. Nyssa picked a pepperoni off her pizza, popped it into her mouth and looked back at Laurel calmly. “He does not- Cisco is _not_ attracted to me. We are _friends_.” 

“Yes, you are. But he would like things to be a bit more. I’m positive. He lights up like a torch when you enter a room. He prattles on about you endlessly when you’re not there and he blushes anytime you compliment him.” 

“No,” Laurel said, laughter bubbling up and out of her throat as she shook her head back and forth. “No, no, no, no. That’s not true. We’re just friends! Cisco thinks its cool that I’m the Black Canary. That’s it!” 

“Hmmm.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” 

“It means that Cisco thinks it’s “cool” that Barry is The Flash, but you don’t see him falling over himself to talk to Barry, to do things for Barry, to look at Barry. Because Barry is a friend. And you are a beautiful and intelligent and single woman. And he admires you greatly.” 

Laurel made a noise that was a cross between embarrassment and indignation. 

“What about you?” Nyssa asked, pulling her legs up and underneath her and snuggling deeper into Laurel’s couch. “Do you feel the same?” 

Laurel stood up from the couch quickly and Nyssa could recognize a defensive posture when she saw it. 

“I don’t know, Nyssa. You seem to know everything.” 

“Yes,” she agreed, ignoring the sarcastic, biting edge to Laurel’s voice. “Just about, but you are harder to gather a read on. Besides, you are my friend. I’d rather you just tell me.” 

“You’re my friend,” Laurel slammed an empty pizza box into the trash with more force than an innocent trash can required. Nyssa sighed. She hadn’t meant to cause such anger. She thought she had been stating the obvious and that Laurel was fully aware of the situation with the longhaired young man. “And so is Cisco. That’s it, okay?” 

No, that was not it. Clearly with how worked up Laurel had gotten about such a simple observation and an even simpler question, but Nyssa wouldn’t push. Laurel would realize it sooner or later. 

“Okay,” she acquiesced. “That’s it.”

* * *

That wasn’t it. 

After Nyssa’s comments it was all Laurel could think about. There she was, Monday morning, sitting at her desk and chewing on a pen cap. A nervous habit she thought she had kicked. The thought alone made her more irritated. 

She’d be a big fat liar if she said she had never thought about Cisco in a more than friendly manner. 

And who could blame her? 

He was sweet, supportive, encouraging, intelligent, quick witted and- 

She was going on like she was fifteen again- no worries in the world except for the boy she liked and if he liked her back or not. She was ridiculous. She’d be thirty in a couple years! Not to mention she had more important things to worry about, like not getting killed when she went out with Diggle tonight. 

A patrol sounded nice. Laurel really, really wanted to punch something. 

She couldn’t even bring herself to respond to Cisco’s text of a cat in a Black Canary costume, and good God was it adorable. She had laughed for a solid five minutes, wiped tears from her eyes, sent it to Nyssa, Thea and Diggle before laughing her ass off again. She wanted to tell him how funny she thought it was and how much she loved it, but each time she typed a response out she would examine it, picking it part before erasing it all and just giving up on formulating any response that didn’t make her sound like an idiot. 

Dating had never been her strong suit. 

She hadn’t even thought about it since her horrific attempts with Sebastian Blood. Not that he counted, but she definitely saw it as a check mark in the LOVE LIFE BAD box. Laurel thought maybe she wasn’t cut out for romance. 

It wasn’t like she had tons of experience under her belt. Oliver had mostly been it for her. There were a few years in high school and then in college when they were off, in their very long on and off again relationship, where she had dated, but it had never been serious. No matter how nice, how handsome, how sweet or how perfect the guy had been, she had always known in her heart of hearts that she and Oliver would find their way back to each other. 

It took everything in her to not snort at the mere thought of that now. 

The only other person who had been serious had been Tommy and that was different as well. She had known Tommy for so long that it had just felt natural. 

This was . . . different. 

And she had no idea what to do.

* * *

7:54 AM Cisco Ramon 

_Are you a dog person? I just assumed you were a cat person? I don’t know why that has a question mark hahaha_

12: 23 PM Cisco Ramon _  
_

_You’re probably all wrapped up in court, but did you watch last night’s The Walking Dead? Absolutely insane and I HAVE THEORIES._

7:12 PM Laurel Lance _  
_

_Oh, no. I didn’t get a chance to watch. Nyssa and I had a girl’s night and she’s not into zombie stuff. Sorry._

7: 14 PM Cisco Ramon 

_What? I thought Nyssa had good taste! Text me when you do watch it! Cait refuses to watch with me. You’re my only zombie bud._

* * *

“I think Laurel’s mad at me,” Cisco confessed. “But I don’t know what I did.”

Barry took a swig of his beer. It may not do anything for him, but sitting in a bar and not drinking one felt weird, like wearing a shirt that was too small or too scratchy. “Why don’t you ask?”

“Barry,” Cisco started and Barry knew he was in for a lecture. “You can’t just ask women why they’re mad at you. They’ll get even madder that you don’t know why. If I learned anything from my mother, it’s that!”

Barry shook his head. “No, that’s not a woman thing. That’s a people thing. Sometimes we expect people to know when they hurt our feelings, and when they don’t we get even more hurt. But if you honestly don’t know-“

“I don’t, okay!” Cisco exclaimed. “I’ve combed through all of our messages the past few days and I just don’t get it. We had a great conversation last night and then this morning I sent her a cat in a Black Canary costume- oh man, let me show you, it’s great!” He pushed his phone across the table to give Barry a vantage point and Barry burst into laughter.

“How does it look so majestic and yet so very threatening?”

“I know! I thought Laurel would love it, but she didn’t respond until way later and didn’t even say anything about it. Then she was kind of short with me and . . . I just don’t know what I did. Maybe I didn’t do anything! You think I’m just reading into things?”

Barry snatched Cisco’s phone off the table and used his speed to type out a quick and harmless text before Cisco could yell in protest.

“Barry!” Barry had never seen Cisco so distraught before. “Jesus! What did you say? Oh my god, _Barry_!”

Cisco quickly opened the Messages app and read Barry’s traitorous text:

_Hey! Don’t want to bother you or anything, but I just wanted to know if I upset you in anyway?_

Cisco glared at him from across the table. “You make me sound so lame!” He whined.

“I just asked her a-“

“ _She’s typing back!”_

Barry wondered if this is what he was like before he and Iris got together. He was almost positive the answer was a resounding ‘yes’, and so he held back any laughter he had thought about letting out. 

The lightest of smiles touched Cisco’s lips, but it reached all the way up to his eyes, brightening his whole face and Barry knew he had done the right thing. “What’d she say?” He asked. 

“She said no and that she was sorry for blowing me off earlier. She just has a lot of stuff going on and I caught her at a bad time. And she loved the cat. It’s her new wallpaper _\- I knew she would love that damn cat!_ And then stuff about the new _Walking Dead_ episode.” 

“No spoilers! I’m still in season four, I swear to God, Cisco!” 

“Look, I’m sorry about the Andrea spoiler, okay? I was just really pissed off!” 

Barry only glared in response.

* * *

10:42 PM Laurel Lance 

_Hey, I just wanted to apologize again for being so rude this morning. You didn’t deserve that!_

10:43 PM Cisco Ramon 

_Oh man, don’t worry about it. PLZ. Even the great and mighty Black Canary is allowed to have a bad day!_

10:47 PM Laurel Lance 

_Cisco!! You can’t just text stuff like that!!_

10: 49 PM Cisco Ramon 

_Sorry, sorry! Deleting it asap. Sorry!_

10:52 PM Laurel Lance 

_I’m gonna be in Central City for some legal proceedings in a few days. Do you wanna meet up for lunch or something?? Maybe dinner???_

10: 55 PM Cisco Ramon 

_Yeah! Totally!_

10:57 PM Laurel Lance 

_Awesome! Gotta go kick some bad guy ass now. Night!_

* * *

“You’re going on a date?!” Thea grinned. 

Laurel shook her head vehemently, checking the price tag on a red suede coat. Thea stood across from her, running her hands over a leather jacket, a grin plastered across her soft features. 

“We’re just friends.” 

Thea made a clucking noise with her tongue and Laurel didn’t need to look up from her examination of the coat in front of her to know that the youngest Queen was smirking. 

“Careful,” she warned. “Your face might stay that way.” 

Thea sidled up next to her, bumping Laurel’s shoulder with her own. “Cisco’s cute.” 

“Oh my god,” Laurel groaned. “He sees me as a friend. And vice versa.” 

“Okay,” Thea said, with that damn smirk laced throughout her tone. “I was just making a statement. That he’s cute. You don’t agree?” 

Laurel narrowed her eyes at her, but Thea trotted away, running her hands along another rack of jackets. “Yes, Thea,” she relented. “He’s cute, okay? Does that matter?” 

“Well, I mean, sexual attraction is key in-“ 

“Alright, goodbye. Walk yourself home!”

* * *

“Have you ever asked a guy out on a date?” 

Caitlin quirked a brow and leaned back in her chair. “Uh, no?” 

Cisco nodded and picked up some papers on the table in front of him. He had no idea what they said or what they were for, but he wanted to keep his hands busy. Nonchalant was the appearance he was striving for. 

“Not even like, a coffee excursion? A meal? Just casual, you know?” 

“With someone that I wasn’t already seeing?” Cisco nodded, shrugging a shoulder and shuffled the papers in his hands. “No, I don’t think so. Is this because Laurel is coming to town?” 

“How do you know that?!” The papers fell from his hands and floated back to the table as he marched over to Caitlin’s area. 

“Iris told me.” 

“How does Iris know? Did Laurel tell her? Are they hanging out too? Oh, was it a group dinner she was talking about?” Cisco looked incredibly disheartened at that. 

Caitlin shook her head. “No, Iris heard from Barry who heard from you.” Caitlin couldn’t believe that one person could radiate such happiness, but here Cisco Ramon stood, spine straight, hands on hips and a grin that could crack a windshield. “Are you guys going out? Did she ask you out?” 

“Well,” Cisco started, his shoulders dropping as he plopped down next to her. He shoved his phone in her hand, his text conversation with Laurel bright on the screen. Caitlin tried not to snicker at the emojis next to Laurel’s name (punch emoji, heart eye emoji, crown emoji, heart eye emoji again, and the flexing arm emoji). “What do you think?” 

Caitlin read the conversation, a neutral expression graced across her face. “It’s casual,” she told him. “Just friends meeting up.” 

He groaned. “Really?” 

Caitlin gave him a small shrug. “Maybe she’s romantically awkward like me?” 

Cisco sighed. “No, no. I think you’re right. I think- we’re friends. We’re just friends.” 

“Oh, Cisco-“ 

“I mean, she dated _Oliver Queen_ and we’ve both seen Oliver Queen. She’s like so out of my league it’s not even funny.” 

“I don’t think that’s true,” Caitlin said. Cisco rolled his eyes before shoving himself out of the chair and back over to his abandoned work. 

“So we like the same TV shows and we both love cat memes and comic books? That doesn’t mean anything. I just described me and Barry!” 

Caitlin quirked her head. “Barry likes cat memes?” 

Cisco ignored her. “I was being stupid.” 

“Look,” Caitlin said, smoothing her hair behind her ears. “We’ve both met Oliver Queen and I wouldn’t exactly call him the warmest of human beings or the funniest of human beings or even the nicest of human beings. Frankly, I think he’s kind of an ass. And you are not an ass. You’re the opposite of an ass and so if you like Laurel in a romantic sense, I think you should tell her. You’re a grown up and she’s a grown up and you can do grown up things together if you just talk about it first.” 

“That’s easier said than done,” Cisco mumbled. 

“It is easy,” she insisted, glaring over in his direction. “You’re just afraid she’ll reject you. And you shouldn’t be afraid of that. Rejection is a part of life.” 

“I’m going to need you to stop talking now.” 

“It _is_!”

* * *

It was hard to believe Starling City and Central City were so close to one another. They had a completely different atmosphere and while Starling City had and would always be home, there was something about Central that just made Laurel feel at ease. 

Her first clue to this whole very high school debacle should have been the amount of effort she put into her outfit. It ranged from “Cisco’s seen you in full on black leather and a face mask, does it really matter” to “I want to appear casual and normal” to “You have a body that can kill, Lance. Show it off” to “I should just wear sweatpants”. She settled on a red dress that she had worn to court a few times, but had also worn out to dinner with Thea and Diggle. It was flattering, but simple. That was good. Happy medium. 

Her second clue should have been how slick her palms got when Cisco texted her he was on his way to their agreed upon destination. They had settled on dinner at an Italian place Cisco had raved about a few months back. She had to wipe her hands on her dress in the middle of the goddamn courthouse before responding. 

But no, it didn’t hit her until he was right in front of her. 

She saw Cisco before he saw her. A grin stretched her lips, and a warmth she couldn’t place settled in her chest as her belly twisted and turned. 

That was when it skipped hitting her, and instead mowed her down like a goddamn freight train. 

Talking with Cisco was so comfortable, put her at so much ease, like there was nothing she could do or say that would ever make Cisco think twice about her. He liked all of her dumb comic book jokes and theories and he loved cats in costumes and he didn’t mind listening to her rant endlessly about some sleezeball she was prosecuting or listening to her talk about her still wrecked relationship with her father. He didn’t judge her when she talked about her complicated past with her sister or when she talked about wanting to kill Malcom Merlyn. He was the first person to look at her and call her the Black Canary with nothing but admiration in his voice. He believed in her. 

Oh, _crap_. 

Thea had been wrong- this wasn’t a date. 

But Laurel sure as hell wanted it to be.

* * *

“Hey!” 

Cisco jumped, all nerves and standing on the edge of his sanity. He whirled around, nearly bumping into Laurel as he went. Oh man, just looking at her set him on fire. Like the first time he dismantled his mom’s microwave and put it back together with it working even better than it had before. Or the first time he got behind the wheel of a car- all adrenaline and nerves and excitement. The first time he felt like a team with Barry and Caitlin- but none of that was right. The time he went up against Captain Cold with a vacuum and won. Even if he put it all together he couldn’t recreate the feeling in the pit of his gut when he looked at her. 

“Oh,” Cisco yelped, patting her shoulder awkwardly. Her gaze followed his hand as it lingered there, brushing off some mysterious dust. “Sorry, you startled me.” 

Laurel nodded and grinned. “I see that.” 

Jesus, she was beautiful. 

Like how can she be real beautiful? How does anyone ever let her be sad beautiful? She gutted him. 

She looked around a little uncertainly. “Do we, uh, have a table or….?” 

“Oh! Yeah,” Cisco laughed. “Yeah, I was just waiting here for you and I thought I’d get a drink, but then I remembered that that’s wildly inappropriate and I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. I’m so sorry! That’s so thoughtless and-“ 

Laurel grabbed his hand, a smile firmly in place, “It’s fine. Not thoughtless at all.” 

She squeezed his hand and he practically choked on his tongue. “I love water,” he blurted out instead. 

Laurel laughed. “Me too. Very healthy!” 

“Great for your skin!” 

She laughed again and he joined her. She nudged him with her shoulder as he led them to their table. “I also love soda,” she stage whispered. 

Cisco covered his face with his hands and groaned, “Oh, thank god. Soda is like the nectar of the gods.”

* * *

“This is so wrong,” Barry whispered. “We shouldn’t be here.” He propped the menu up on the table, hunching his back over and buried his head in the laminated descriptions of food. 

“Are you kidding me?” Iris asked, taking a sip of her tea. “Don’t act like I twisted your arm. You were even on time! You’re never on time! And what did you say when I pitched this idea to you?” 

Barry shook his head, “I don’t remember.” 

Iris raised an eyebrow and said, “Let me remind you: “It’ll be like watching our children go on their first date”. Ringing any bells yet, Bartholomew?” 

“Maybe _a_ bell, I don’t know about bells, _plural_.” 

“Barry Allen, I swear to God-“ 

“Keep your voice down!” 

“They are on the other side of the restaurant. Look how close they’re sitting! I could barely get anything out of Laurel earlier, but she was being so shady about this whole thing I knew it was more than a friendly dinner. I knew it! I knew it!” Iris grinned, smacking her hands together excitedly before looking back to her boyfriend who was still slouched over in his seat. Iris sighed. “Has anyone ever told you you would make a horrible investigator? You’re drawing more attention to yourself slouched over, face first in the table. Sit up!” 

“What if they see us?” 

Iris rolled her eyes. She loved Barry, she really, really did, but sometimes he made her wonder in a “how do I love this man he drives me crazy” sort of way. 

She looked back over to Laurel and Cisco. Laurel was animated, hands flying as she told some story or another and the look on Cisco’s face- it made Iris break out into a grin. She had never seen him so happy, so enraptured and so at peace. Granted, they weren’t the best of friends, but they had gotten a lot closer over the past year and there was just something about Laurel that lit up Cisco’s entire being. 

Iris smiled to herself and turned her attention back to her boyfriend who was still waiting for an answer. “We act like it’s a coincidence. And since we both know you’re an excellent liar, I have complete faith we could pull it off.” Barry’s stance softened at her words and clear reminder of the whole year he spent lying to her face. Iris winked at him and he let out a breath he hadn’t been quite aware he was holding. “Besides, it’s not like either of them told us where they were doing dinner, right?” 

Barry nodded and then paused. “Yeah, how did you know they were meeting here?” 

“Elementary investigation,” she replied. “We were in the lab earlier and I pretended to be interested in the iPhone 6 and asked Cisco if I could check it out. He handed it right over.” 

“You read his texts?!” 

Iris scrunched her face up giving a half shrug. “I skimmed?” 

“We’re bad friends,” Barry said, slumping into the table again. 

“We are not. We are terribly curious, inappropriate friends who really like Italian food.” 

Barry smiled, eyes lighting up as he reached for her hand before bringing it up to his lips. “I love you.” 

“Ditto,” Iris whispered. “Now are we sharing some calamari or what?”

* * *

Laurel was nervous. 

The not-dinner date was almost over, their forks clashing together as they shared tiramisu, and all Laurel could think about was if there was food stuck in her teeth, or if she was laughing too loud, or if she was boring him with stories from law school, or if he could tell she didn’t understand half of what he was saying when he talked about his work with The Flash. 

Laurel hated being nervous. 

She was a confident person by nature, solidified even more after the past year she spent as Black Canary, and here she was, wondering if the man sitting across from her thought she was stupid. 

The check came and they bickered back and forth. 

“My mom would like shoot me if she found out I didn’t pay.” 

“Yeah, but I asked you to meet me for dinner so it’s my treat.” 

“Yeah, but I picked the restaurant.” 

“That’s not a rule.” 

“I think it is. I don’t know how they do it in Starling City, but-“ 

“In Starling City, they go Dutch.” She smiled, her grin stretching from ear to ear and Cisco caved like a house of cards. 

Laurel held the door for Cisco as they left and he smiled that heart warming smile of his that made her feel all gooey inside all the way down to her toes. 

“Are you meeting up with anyone else while you’re in town?” 

Laurel nodded. “Iris and I are meeting up for an early breakfast before I leave in the morning.” 

“Oh, that’s great! I didn’t know you were staying the night.” 

“Yeah, I have a few more things I have to wrap up at the courthouse here so I’ll do that first thing before I head out.” 

Cisco smiled at her as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. 

“Hey!” Laurel exclaimed. “Maybe next time you’re in my neck of the woods we can go to my favorite place. It’s a burger joint and definitely less fancy, but it’s good food.” 

Cisco nodded furiously. “Yes! That sounds great. Burgers are great!” 

Laurel laughed as Cisco shut his eyes and shook his head. 

“I swear that I am more intelligent than this,” he told her. “I just- um, can I ask you something? I’m a little nervous here and I don’t want to make things weird by asking I’m just curious, and it’s no big deal, really, I was just curious-“ 

“Cisco,” Laurel said. “Just ask.” She could feel her heart in her throat. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what was coming. 

“Could we maybe make that burger excursion . . . a date? We can totally go Dutch if that’s how you Starling citizens roll, but it would be really just spectacular if it could, um, be, uh, a date?”

* * *

Oh man, his hands were so sweaty. He wanted to wipe them on his jeans, but damn that would be obvious. What gorgeous vigilante ADA wants to date a dude with sweaty palms that he wipes on his clothes? 

Oh geeze, she was gonna say no. 

She was so out of his league. So they sat next to each other and shared a meal? So what. So she did this irresistibly cute giggle every time their forks knocked together as they shared their tiramisu? Big deal. So she held the door open for him? Whatever. He did that all the time for Caitlin and Barry alike. So she was smiling and nodding- wait. 

She was smiling and nodding. 

“We can absolutely make that a date,” Laurel answered, laughing. Her curls danced around her face. 

Cisco wondered if this was how Barry felt. If when he geared up his speed and let it take him, did time stop for him? Did he feel it slow down in his bones just as he saw it come to a skittering halt with his eyes? Did he live infinitely in one moment every time he raced off? 

“Yeah?” He squeaked. Oh lord in Heaven, he squeaked. 

“Yes,” she confirmed. 

And then time did stop. She stepped right into his space, in the middle of the sidewalk, reached her hands up and grasped at his shoulders and pulled him into her. He’s not sure if he went gracefully, he doubted it, he probably fell right into her, but she didn’t mind as her lips found his. 

Laurel Lance had the softest lips he had ever touched, and the sharpest teeth as she bit into his lower lip and tugged. Cisco choked on a groan and let his hands rest on the swell of her hips. He pushed right into her and she pushed back, her hands curling into his jacket and her tongue outlining his. 

He was sure he was dead. 

That some supervillain, probably those goddamn Rogues, had swooped in and just shot him from behind and he was dead. Dead in Heaven, obviously, but dead all the same. 

And then Laurel made the softest sigh that made him hold onto her even tighter and wrap a hand into her hair, holding the base of her skull. He couldn’t have dreamt that in a million years and he was sure no God could either. 

She broke away then, pulling back, but her hands were fisted tight in his jacket. She bit at her bottom lip and Cisco was positive his heart was going to thump right out of his chest and smack her in the face. He was so gone on this woman, he could barely see. 

“As much as I love a good make out session, we’re in the middle of a sidewalk.” 

Cisco looked around then and blushed. Yeah, it was around eight at night and it was pretty dark, and the street wasn’t that populated, but it was populated enough. 

“Come on,” she said, smiling at him with a gleam in her eye. He’d follow her anywhere. He hoped she knew that. 

Just in case though, “I’d follow you anywhere.” 

She laughed all bright and light and he knew there was a dopey smile on his face. 

“Walk me back to my hotel,” she told him, linking her fingers in his. He nodded, not taking his eyes off her face and squeezing her hand. “And Cisco,” she said seriously. “I’m counting this as a date.”

Cisco laughed loudly, squeezing her hand even tighter. 

“I knew it!”


End file.
